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nine years later, the nation marks the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. could a brewing controversy overshadow this year's events? about face, a florida preacher who once burned to plan koran korans today changes his min d. >> we have decided to cancel the burning. >> what prompted his decision, that's coming up. more stories out this morning from people to lived to tell about that massive fire that destroyed parts of a community near san francisco. and some rays of light. new numbers suggest the economy may not be as bad as people think. so, where are the jobs?

good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. welcome to msnbc saturday. the crowds are gathering right now in new york, washington and pennsylvania to mark nine years since the september 11th attacks. special services will take place at those three sites where hijacked planes crashed. along with this year's events there's also controversy. ns's michelle franzen is live in new york city. good saturday morning to you. let's get a scene setter this morning. what's it like? >> reporter: certainly families are beginning to gather at zuccotti park, adjacent park near ground zero, much of a construction site and has been in the previous years and remains so. we can give you an overview of that shot this morning, but certainly as you mentioned, emotions surrounding the 9/11 anniversary are certainly always heightened. but with the political and religious coddntroversies, it's only adding to the tensions. still, the nation is taking time toause and remember the lives lost on that day.

despite a heated debate over a proposed mosque and controversial islamic center near ground zero and plans of one pastor to burn copies of the koran today, nine years after terrorists struck, the focus returns to remembering the victims. ceremonies in new york, virginia and pennsylvania pay tribute to the 2,752 victims killed when terrorists hijacked four commercial planes and attacked the u.s. in lower manhattan, 9/11 families gather at zuccotti park, adjacent toground zero. throughout the morning, as has become tradition, victims of moments l be read and of silence will be marked when each plane hit and each tower fell. at the pentagon, president obama delivers remarks and participates in a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial site. and in shanksville, pennsylvania, where united

flight 93 crashed, first lady michelle obama, along with former first lady, laura bush, attend a ceremony to honor the passengers who foughback. meanwhile, plans to rebuild at ground zero are moving forward. the centerpiece, one world trade center, is expected to be completed by 2013. but with each construction step forward,here remains a connection to the past. steel beams pulled from the ground zero rubble were permanently installed this week at the entrance of the national september 11th memorial and museum, slated to be finished in 2012. >> it is going to be a memorial that we will all be proud of and a memorial that will inspire people around the world. >> reporter: and always remind them never to forget. certainly a day of reflection and also president obama has signed a proclamation making this entire weekend national days of prayers and remembrance and asking americans to make this a day of service, volunteering, giving back to others in need.

alex? >> michelle franzen in lower manhattan, thank you. president obama offering his first comment this is morning on what will be a full day of memorials for the victims of 9/11. in his weekly address to the nation, the president acknowledged the heavy burden that continues to weigh on the country nine years later. >> we will never forget the anger and the sadness that we felt. and while nine years have come and gone since that september morning, the passage of time will never diminish, the pain and loss forever seared in the consciousness of our nation. >> mike viqueira is live at the white house for us. >> reporter: good morning, alex. >> let's talk about how the president is marking this anniversary. >> in that radio address that aired just this morning, he also said we need to renew our commitment, not for the desire to destroy, but the impulse to save, honoring all of those individuals who did everything they could to reond on 9/11, including those heroes of flight 93 in shanksville, pennsylvania. first lady, michelle obama, will

be there, as michelle just reported, along with the former first lady, laura bush. the president himself will hor -- will have a moment of silence here in the white house. 8:46, the moment that that attack commenced. and he will later travel across the river to the pentagon, where 184 people lost their lives. there's a memory ial now there with benches for each of those . 184. you saw joe biden and dr. jill biden, his spouse, are in new york city. this is a national day of remembrance, the president will engage in an act of service here in the washington area. tbd or tba, rather, where he will actually be. and dr. biden and vice presidentme biden will do the same in new york city. meanwhile, the president -- this, never far from anyone's mind. yesterday, amid all this controversy at that press conference in the east room reminding americans that we are not at war with islam. rather, we are at war with those

who would bear false witnes against islam, that would use islam under false pretenses to attack this country, alex. >> very good point. mike viqueira from the white house. mike, thanks. >> reporter: certainly. let's take a look at the full schedule of events taking place today. 8:40 eastern, the memorial ceremony in new york will ben with vice president biden and his wife, jill, in attendance. we've seen them there already. at 9:30 eastern, president obama will attend the ceremony at the pentagon. also at 9:30, first lady michelle obama along with former first lady laura bush will be present for the ceremony in shanksville, pennsylvania, to honor the passengers and crew o united airlines flight 93. and the tribute in light will begin at 7:11 pm where the world trade center building stood, illuminating the sky over lower manhattan. we have our special coverage of 9/11 as it happened. we'll take a look back. it's coming up in just a short while, later this hour at 8:53

eastern when nine years ago today at that time, news first came in of the first plane striking the world trade center. is morning, federal investigation is trying to determine what caused a gas line to erupt in northern california and fuel a massive, deadly inrno. san bruno's fire chief says the site of the disaster looks more like a moonscape with acres of leveled homes and charred cars. crs confirm at least four people are dead and over 50 have been injured. witnesses describe that terrifying moment right after the blast. >> huge fire and smoke everywhere and we just ran for our life. >> i had trouble getting out. i had to -- the car was in the driveway. i had a car out in the driveway, but it was burning already. >> lianne gregg is right there in san bruno, california. esod morning to you. what's the latest, leanne? >> reporter: good morning. the neighborhood is still smoldering and the focus is on the investigation, led by the national transportation safety board. they'll be back on this sites

soon as daybreaks. they say don't expect any answers soon. their final report could take a year or more. this is what's left of a ighborhood in san bruno, california, not far from the san francisco international airport. 167 homes destroye d or damaged. 15 charred. four people confirmed dead. hell on earth, that's how some described the blast thesat shot flames hundreds of feet into the air. >> we thought a jet had gone down. >> fueled by a ruptured gas line and explosions so violee nt, it shook the earth. >> i thought we were having an ear earthquake. nothing happened and i looked out the kitchen window and saw this huge explosio >> reporter: as the inferno jumped from house to house, firefighters faced hydrants with no water and exploding gas lines. >> we really couldn't be successful putting out the fire without the supply being shut down. >> reporter: planes dropped retardant. by dawn, the fire was mostly contained.

in addition to those killed, more than 50 others were injured, sotme critically. now the question, what happened? pacific gas and electric says a 30-inch gas line,at's one that' to 50 years old, likely ruptured. >> we are constantly working every day to make sure that we are maintaining the integrity of that system. >> reporter: as the investigation intensifies, people stunned in this community rocked by the disaster hope for answers. ntsb investigators will be analyzing a 30-inch pipe. they'll also look at maintenance records, its condition and the employees who were in charge of that, as part of their investigation. now, as for the residents, they're being told they're not allowed back into that blast zone, at least not for some time, until it's determined to be safe. alex? >> understandably so, given what we've witnessed there. leanne gregg in san bruno, thank you. that florida pastor who inflamed muslims around the world by announcing his

intention to burn korans terry jones says he will never burn a copy of the koran, not now, not in the nfutur the pastor in new york city in an effort to meet imam rauf, the man in charge of building that islamic center near ground zero. mike taibbi joins us now. what have we learned about plans of his trip? >> reporter: what 've heard is the latest version of plans of his tri the stories change by day, or sometimes within the hour. he said there was definitely a meeting set, definitely a quid pro quo, he would not burn the korans if imam rauf made a commitment to move the locaon of the planned islamic center and mosque. that quid pro quo is no longer s the table. pastor jones says he still has accomplished his mission. >> wfeel that whenever we started this out, oneof our reasons was to show, to expose

that there is an element of islam that is very dangerous and very radical. i believe that we have definitely accomplied that mission, even though we have not burned one koran, we have gotten over 100 death threats. >> reporter: as for imam rauf, a statement was released last night on his behalf. i am prepared to consider meeting with anyone who is seriously committed to pursuing peace. while many would argue that a pastor who threatened to burn a pif korans is hardly someone who is committed to pursuing peace, that was the leverage, the threat to do that and a threat, one assumes, could be resurrected, if not by him,me b somebody else, that could force a meeting. if there is, in fact, a meeting. so far, imam rauf has said no meeting has been set. alex? >> mike taibbi, thank you very much for that update from lower manhattan. >> all right. american hiker held captive in iran. why iranian officials aren't .

letting her go just yet. they've been in office ildings, hotels and movie theaters. now bed bugs have turned up in the last place you would want to see them. fighting islamaphobia in the wake of the now canceled koran burning. hear from a pastor who is reaching out to his community. . but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. comes in a liquid gel. thais...peggy. whatng usa pris proem, please?me peggy? sure...well...suddenly it looks like i'm being charged a $35 annual fee. yes? tell me it's a mistake. yes? are you saying yes or are you asking yes? yes? peggy? peggy? acr: want better customer service? switch to discover. ranked #1 in customer loyalty. it pays to discover. with a new line of fresh recipes.

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at 16 past the hour on this day of remembrance a look at ground zero, beginning the construction of what will be there in the footprints of those buildings, o very tall building in the center, which has gone up to some degree right there. that, looking at the pentagon in that peaceful park that was created there, memorializing all

those killed at the pentagon with those benches on which their names ar inscribed and written. people go there very frequently to take ti to reflect on the acts nine years ago today. meanwhile, amid the controversy on this 11, from that florida pastor, a different take, from tennessee, this pastor put up this sign to welcome the once he learned a mosque was being put up. thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> you're getting a lot of attention because of your reaching out to muslims. >> overwhelmed. 40 or 50 voice messages. facebook is totally blown up. it's rwoverwhelming. >> what was your first reaction aen you heard of the florida pastor's plan to hold a burn a koran day? >> it hurt my heart, becaus the jesus that i know and love

teaches love, gave us two commandments. they're both about love and the second one focuses on loving your neighbor. so, it was just -- it was so out of sync with who understand jesus to be. to addroess ou able the congregation of pastor jones or anyone else who makes that direct connection between islam as a whole and terror in the u.s.? what is your main message? >> the messa that i am trying to put out that we have shared here at heartsong church with the memphis islamic center is simply love your neighbor. they're adjacent to us. their property and ours are adjacent and they are actually our neighbors, right across the street. it's a no brainer for us. >> pastor jones is on the "today" show earlier this morning and said that he will now not hold a burn the koran event. he says he will never burn a koran. is that something you think that he caved into pressure or would you suggest that he saw the light, for lack of a better description? >> my hope would be th that he saw the light, that the love that is

at the very heart of the christian faith somehow weld up in him,e the message that he go from so many people imploring him, begging him not to do this decause of the danger to other people and to himself and his own flock. 'm hoping that's what got through to him. >> steve, as we look at 9/11 and commemorate the terrible actions nine years ago today, wt do you think the message is that we should be putting out there? >> i think the message is that the best way to peace and tolerance is to get to know people ersonally. we've gotten to know the people across the street from us. in the beginning, i didn't know anybodover there. i knew one muslim friend from the gym where i work out, and we just have bnegun to get to know those people. as we do, then there's not a religion there anymore, but actual human beings. >> pastor steve stone of the heartsong church orin memphis, tennessee, thank you for joining

us here on msnbc saturday. best of luck. >> my pleasure. thank you. an encouraging sign today about the economy that could leave fewer people winding up in the unemployment line. we'll look at that when "msnbc saturday" continues. it's just the way you like it-- with carbohydrates for energy and protein for muscles. [ woman announcing ] beneful incredibites. another healthful, flavorful beneful. not that long ago, many families were priced out of an overheated housing market. but the times have changed. get the facts at remax.com. it's a great place to see all the listings in thousands of cities and towns. with lots of houses to chose from and down-to-earth prices the dream of owning a home seems more attainable than ever. find out what an experienced re/max agent can do for you. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. stay twice... earn a free night!

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a wildfire in colorado that destroyed at least 169 hos is authorities hope they can fully contain that fire wiin the next three days or so. about 1,000 people are still waiting for the go ahead to return to their homes. bed bugs have turned up at a hospital in lansing, ingham center fumigated after they were discovered. park officials believe the increase in visitors is due to americans looking for a cheaper vacation in this rough economy. possible signs of life to talk about for the economy. this week for the first time in almostwo months, applications

for unemployment benefits dropped. the labor department reporting unemployment claims fell by 27,000 to 451,000. business reporter with "the washington post" joins me now. wh did you hear from the presidt's press csonference that suggests help is on the way when it comes to jobs? >> the president this week introduced a package wth about $180 billion. that's a mix of infrastructure spending and then tax cuts for business. ways to just get them tofi finay spend. they're sitting on a lot of money right now, waiting for consumer demand. the idea is that maybe if we could give them tax breaks, they'll actually start hiring people. >> the president's $180 billion infrastructure plan is not sitting well with lawmakers. what do you know about that angle of things? >> there's a lot of nervousness on capitol hill about any kind of spending. people are worried about raising the deficit, even democrats.

the reception this week was fairly cool. you didn't see democratic leadership coming out behind this plan. polically, it will be a tough, uphill climb for the president to get this through. >> you write in yo latest article that economists say the infrastructure plan is too modest to create jobs. why is that? where is that coming from? >> no one is saying it's a bad idea. e going t it's not quit to be enough. the problem, politically, right now is that the president has to look like he's trying something. and everyone agrees, the tax breaks are not a bad idea. infrastructure spendy ing,te th country definitely needs it. the problem is that he has penned in here where he can'tg propose something that big. people are saying this isd. this is probably where we need to go, the right direction. just not enough. >> okay. the labor department's latest unemployment report showed a tol of 54,000 jobs lost in august. that's still a lot. it's less than what economists had predicted but is this good news, overall? should the public be reassured by this or do you look at it and say i still can't see the silver lining?

>> there's maybe a little bit of a silver lining. the problem is that last month we saw unemployment tick up from 9.5% to 9.6%. all the signals on the economy, very mixed. just muddling ong right now. not a recession quite yet. we're not seeing a double dip. but also the recovery is moving very, very slowly. everyone is in a wait and see mode right now. >> we'll be waiting right along with you there. thank you very much for reporting from "the washington post." coming up, everyone, as we take a look at ground zero and the many hundreds, if not thousands that have gathered there to take part in the commemorative ceremony today, honoring nine years to this day since the attacks, i'll be speaking with mayor michael bloombg and get his thoughts on that day nine years ago and all that's happened since. my name is vonetta, and i suffer from allergies. [ male announcer ] we asked zyrtec® users what they love about their allergy relief, and what it lets them do. the thing i love most about zyrtec® is that it allows me to be outside.

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it is" machin "msnbc saturda" i'm alex witt. ceremonies will be held at ground zero, the pentagon and in shanksville, pennsylvania. the pastor who has postpones burping the korans is in new york, hoping for a meeting with the imam oversee inging the isl ceer near ground zero and earlier this morning said he will koran. that plan is off. searching for the cause of that devastating gas line explosion in california. it has killed four people and destroyed dozens of homes. 50% of that wildfire near boulder, colorado, is contained. that fire destroyed at least 169 homes and forced thousands of residents to evacue. an american hiker, sarah shourd, won't be released from jail in iran today, even though president mahmoud ahmadinejad

declared her release. she must first stand trial. those are your headlines. crowds are gathering in lower manhattan to remember those who lost their lives nine years ago today. the september 11th memorial service is set to begin in about ten minutes or so. the mes of everyone who died in those attacks will be read aloud. vice president biden, his wife, jill, and ja napolitano will all be in attendance. here is a schedule of the events. the ceremony at ground zero set to begin at 8:40 eastern time. at 9:30 eastern, president obama wi ll attend a ceremony at the pentagon. also at 9:30, first lady michelle obama and former first lady laura bush will be present for the ceremony shanksville, pennsylvania, to honor the passengers and crew, heroic members of united airlines flight 93. the 7:11 eastern time tonight, tribute in light will begin in new york city with twin beams of light shooting up from the footprints where the world tra center buildings stood,

illuminating the sky over manhattan. joining me now is new yorchk lc mayor michael bloomber g. good morning, mr. mayor. >> good morning. >> you were a fairly new mayor of new york city for the first anniversary of the september 11th attacks. from your perspective, as we now mark the ninth anniversary, how has the day schanged? >> the day has changed in the sense that we're nine years later and maybe we've learned some lessons and maybe this country really understands that our freedoms are fragile and that we have to stand up for everybody's freedom. and we're going to constantly have to fight for our freedoms around the world. we have our young men and women overseas, fighting to protect us, not just from terrorists but from people who, around the world, would take away our ability to say what weant to say and practice whatever religion we pick. hopefully, we've gotten somewhat wiser durin the last nine years. although, i will say ring the eight or nine years before 9/11, we hadn't learned that lesson. there was a bomb, if you remember, that was planted in

the world trade center. it went off and we learned nothing. hopefully, this time we have and it's my job and your job and every american's job to remind ourselves and to teach our kids that for 200 plus years, this country has been fighting to be free and we'll probably have to continue to do that, going forward. >> you are well aware of the amount of controversy overshadowing today's event with his the plan for the islamic center near ground zero. there are also a the on again, f again plans of a florida preacher to hold a koran burning tonight. what are the tensions there? >> the truth of the matter is that the guy who wants to burn korans, i don't think it's worth giving him the publicity that he wantst and that i think, unfortunately, the press is coweringmo to. in terms of the mosque, this is plain and simple acres first amendment right. when people around america realize if the government, can do it here, can do it in their

town of telling them who they can pray to, where they can build their church, synagogue or mosque. the first amendment stood for an awful long time in very good shape, kept us going in very good shape and we want to continue to make sure that everybody has the right to pray, do whatever they want to, wherever they want to, whenever they want to. >> indeed but in terms of an expression of thought, a recent poll shows 50% of new yorkers oppose building the islamic centero close to ground zero. how do you balance the concerns of all new yorkers to include the families of the victims of september 11th attacks and your belief that the project should continue at its proposed site? >> i don't think the project necessarily should continue or not continue. that's up to the project people. the government shouldn't be involved. and those people that don't want it shouldn't contribute to it. those that do, maybe they should contribute to it. this is plain and simple a first amendment right. the government shouldn't be telling people whether it's good or bad, whether it's appropriate or not appropriate.

it's a first amendment right and we should have to protect that because if we don't protect the right this time, then when something that we care about comes up, nobody is going to be there to protect us south florida mayor michael bloomberg, i know your business today is to commemorate the 9/11 anniversary. thank you for joining us here. do be sure to say with msnbc this morning. our special coverage of 9/11 as it happened in which we will take a look back in a few minutes starting at 8:53 eastern when nine years ago today news first came in of the first trade center attack. more frustration for the families of three americans jailed in iran. that is ahead on "msnbc saturday."

no oil has flowed into the gulf for weeks, but it's just the beginning of our work. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. my job is to listen to the shmpers and fishermen, hotel and restaurant workers and find ways to help. that means working with communities. we have 19 centers in 4 states.

00 we've made over 120,000 claims payments, more than $375 million. we've committed $20 billion to an independent claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. we'll keep looking for oil, cleaning it up if we find it and restoring the gulfoast. i was born in new orleans. still lives here. bp is gonna be here until the oil is gone and the people and businesses are back to normal... until we make this right. ♪ [ mom ] game time is all about the traditions. it's all about the tackles and the touchdowns...

and watching my boys do what they do. but for me, it's even more than that. game time is about our time. together [ female announcer ] get low prices on all your favorites for the game. save money. live better. walmart. families of those killed on september 11th at the world trade center are gathering right now for today's ninth anniversary observances. we'll take you there in just a few minutes. after that, we'reu going to brg you 9/11 as it happened, a

rebroadcast of the coverage of the attacks nine years ago here on msnbc. new this morning, american hiker sarah shourd won't be released even though president ahmadinejad granted her clemency. joining me to talk about this, retired colonel and analyst jack jacobs. why the change? why was she going to be let go and now not? >> this is a battle inside iran. it's a battle between ahmadinejad on the one hand and more conservative elements, if you can believe that -- >> no. >> -- in the rest -- among the rest of the conservatives, who dislike ahmadinejad. it appears that ahmadinejad himself personally intervened to get her released. that was thwarted by the senior prosecutor there who said the judicial process is not yet concluded. >> she has to stand trial?

>> she has to stand trial and maybe she'll be released, maybe she wouldn't be. ahmadinejad wants to get her released before he comes to the united states and goes bet fore the u.n. >> it has been said and this was confirmed by h mother and others that have been over there, of those three jailed hikers, that she has been suffering from some depression and some physical ailments, understandably so on the depression part. do you think that kind of information, knowing ahmadinejad, the extent that you do, that if she may be in physical peril, does he not want that on his watch or does he care about that? >> he does not want that on his watch. ofdon't forget, he is the face iran. he is the guy who, although he has limited powers inside iran, he is the guy who has to deal with the united states with the rest of the world on sanctions, which they want the united states to ease up on sanctions, which is one reason why, ultimately, at least she might be released, to get the united states to ease up on sanctions. so, he does not want bad things to happen to these hikers on his

watch. >> do you think she's going to get released? >> i think 50/50 shot and it is all a reflection of the rockk 'em, sock 'em world of politi inside iran. if she gets released it's because ahmadinejad himself convinced the more conservative element elements to let her go. >> thank you for being here. >> good being here. somber scene at ground zero at this moment as family members convene to remember their lost loved ones. stay tuned, we have our continuing coverage of 9/11, nine years later. lighting, gir. mnh-mnh. oh gosh! woo! it's this drab one-tone hair color, ick. yeah. let's szush it up. [ gigi ] try nice 'n easy with colorblend technology. in one simple step, get a blend of tones and highlights. so even in this lovely light, nice 'n easy comes to life with dimension. instead of drabulous... i love it! shhhhh. [ gigi ] ...you look fabulous with tones and highlights. nice 'n easy. your right color.

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♪ >> bag pipers gathering for the commemorative ceremony that has gun some four minutes ago at ground zero,the site of the world trade center attacks in lower manhattan.

a trit triggered wars overs tested icus. it is difficult to overstate th impact of that day on america. let's bring in nationally syndicated talk show host and msnbc contributor, the author of "instinct: the man who stopped the 20th hijacker." also with us, presidential historian and author. good morning to both of 'ryou. i'm glad you're here on this very sobering and poignant day. >> thank you. >> hello. >> i'll begin with you, chael, nine years later, how has americans perceptions of t attacks changed? >> i like what you're about to do. i like the fact that in just a couple of moments we're all going to relive, almost in real time the way it unfolded, because i think we need that refresher. my feeling, alex, is that once a year is not enough. i have been paying close attention to television this week and i'm amazed and disappointed at how infrequently i'veeen the images of those

airplanes hitting the twin towers.'v and i think we've all become far too sensitized to it. we need that wake up. we need to remember exactly what transpired and this is how we should be spending our time rather than the way i think the last several days it's gotten away from us with this reabhorrt guy down in florida. >> a guy who says finally after people pleading with him from around the world, has received death threats, he finally said on the "today" show he will never burn a copy of the koran. it would appear hi like that is off. but doris, as we talk about 9/11, having been an en unprecedented event in american history, i would love your historical context here. are there comparisons to be drawn from other major events in the past? what comes to mind, for me, would be pearl harbor. that a anything else, are there things to be learned? >> i think there's no question, there's always something to be learned about a big event. i keep wondering about, even today, is as they read the names of the people who died on 9/11,

if we could just reflect on how many different religions they represe h represent, how many different backgrounds, different countries om which they have come to just remind us that what the strength of americis, that we are a nation of many nations. and just to put, as michael just said, these events of the last couple of weeks in a mucoch betr context, that tat's what were about, that's what created us as an immigrant nation and the idea that we're turning on each other right now because of the mosque in new york, because of this pastor jones, it should that that's the lesson to be learned from this event. >> michael, how about homeland security nine years later? from the people you talked to, is there a sense out there that americans feel this nation is more secure today? >> you know, one of the debates that i had the radio this week -- and thisu may surprise you -- is whether we've been overblown in our n response. it's a notion that was advanced a couple of years ago with a book that was published by a professor from ohio. i can remember that when i first raised it year ago, individuals

said oh, that's a ridilo notion we need all of this security. we need each of these responses. and i noticed a different tone in my callers this week when i would ask them about the pass card that is now everybody has in their wallet to gain access to wherever it is they may work, not to mention what goes on at the borders or what takes place relative to airline security. and i think now t there's this notion that we need to, of course, work hard, but we need to work smart in terms of protenting ourselves and perhaps we haven't been doing enough of both. >> you know, michael, we were just seeing a picture right there of someone there at ground zero who lost his mother and he was talking about the poign of all of that. saw live there those that have gathered for the pentagon ceremony, which willegin at 9:30 eastern time. we just want to let all of you know that that is what you are seeing there on the split screen. doris,s we talk about the cold war, always was fear of attack from the soviet union.

americans live with similar tension now, or is it different? south florida i >> i'm not sure it's still the same as it was when we were growing up and had to hide underneath our dks for the fear of an atomic bomb coming on top of us. it was such a prence, like a low-lying cloud in those days. mentioning the cold war reminds me that we should not forget on this day that while 3,000 people died on 9/11, more than 5di,000 soldiers have died nce then in our response in iraq and afghanistan. sometimes it saddens me. we will read e names of each 9/11, we don't read the names of every soldier that has decide in these last years in response. they have born the burden of our response to 9/11 ever since it actually happened and we should never forget them, even on this day. >> michael, how about your listeners every day, do they get a sense of that, we should not forget those that ha served this country in time of war overseas? >> yeah. there's no doubt what